


𝙃𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙘𝙡𝙚

by Tia_Maria



Category: The Last Kids on Earth (Cartoon), The Last Kids on Earth Series - Max Brallier
Genre: +15, At winter they all hibernate, Comedy, Everyone is above 15 now, F/M, Four is an even number, Friends to Lovers, Fun, Getting closer out of “necessity”, Hot-chocolate, I didn’t read the books, I just loved to see Dirk and Quint hugging each other out of despair on the Cartoon, It helps to cope with the cold weather, Kissing, M/M, Monsters are still running loose but they have befriended lots of them, My first and last fanfic for this Fandom, Probably some grammar mistakes but I’m too lazy to correct, Romance, Secret Relationship, Slightly NSFW moments, Slow Burn, Snuggling, Stress, Sweet, Talking about condoms, Teens going through Puberty, Wakefield is still going through the apocalypse, Winter, anyway, chat, enjoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:47:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29654994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tia_Maria/pseuds/Tia_Maria
Summary: Quint squinted his eyes while looking at the city through the binoculars he built on top of the treehouse.It was early in the morning.The weather was getting colder.Jack was asleep. Snoring loudly, as usual.June was out, exercising, doing laps around the block.And Dirk was down by his garden beds, fertilizing his brand-new potato seedlings.Rising the binoculars to the north, Quint frowned. That thick gray cloud hovering over Wyndham Woods wasn’t there a few hours ago - and it was coming fast.“Hey, Dirk.” He called, lowering his gadget and staring at the sky without them, pointing.His ex-bully looked up when he heard the calling.And, not taking his eyes away from the cloud, Quint warned.“We need to stock up, it’ll snow soon.”
Relationships: June Del Toro/Jack Sullivan, Quint Baker/Dirk Savage
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15





	𝙃𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙘𝙡𝙚

Quint is always the first to wake up in the morning. But he’s also the first to _faint_ once the clock hits eleven o’clock, too.

Either if it is a movie night, a video game or a game cards one. Either if he’s at the treehouse, his own lab (the mechanic workshop right next to the pizzeria), or inside their vehicle on a lookout. He’d naturally pass out. Eyes going heavy and body losing strength. He’d cross his arms over a surface and lay his head on it - breathing slowly, evenly, just as methodically as everything he does on a daily basis - regardless of the _place_.

Usually, staying anywhere that isn’t his room is considered _dangerous_ \- so whenever it happens Dirk would be the doomed soul to bring him back to safety.

He knows. And sometimes he even _awakes_ when Dirk carries him in bride-style back to the treehouse. But he wouldn’t _dare_ let it show.

_Just go back to sleep_ \- is what he tells himself. Mainly because he didn’t want to recognize the motives behind his fast-beating heart and blushed cheeks.

Drifting away back to dreamland is easier than he thought in the beginning to be.

It helps that Dirk has warm and strong arms…

_Anyway._

Quint is always the first to wake up in the morning. He goes around the treehouse, preparing coffee for everyone.

After him, Dirk and June wake up almost at the same time - which used to be pretty fun in the beginning, when they were kids. Quint would bet with himself who would wake up first and come begging him to prepare them a fresh cup of coffee too.

Since the end of Last Year, they had upgraded their kitchen with the help of a joiner monster - the same one that helped them to rebuild the pizzeria after it got exploded accidentally by one of Quint’s explosive gadgets - in the end, their kitchen became bigger and had proper appliances besides the overused electric sandwich maker and microwave. Which was a big win.

Dirk became really _fond_ of that part of the house, and did start to develop more skills on cooking.

Which, seriously, thank god that at least **_one_ ** of them knows how to prepare food, because after two years the supermarket started to get empty from easy industrial snacks.

Quint is not even sure how they survived solely on _that_ for so long.

His parents would be disappointed. Really.

The vegetables Dirk was cultivating in their backyard helped too. It also expanded over the year - now the big guy had at least half a dozen of those big garden beds. Also, the orange and apple tree he was raising since the beginning finally gave them some fruits!

Except… on _hibernation_ periods.

After the apocalypse hit Wakefield, it changed most of the things they were used to - you know the story. But one of the harshest things there was to get used to, was the _winter_.

Spring and Summer were great, it took most part of the year. Fall brings the signals of necessity for preparation to endure the upcoming next season - and Winter was _hell on earth_.

Too freezing to live in a twenty-five foot over ground _treehouse_ , completely made of _wood_ , that would undoubtedly catch fire if they were to put a fireplace on it.

So, in the beginning? It was a _mess_.

The good-monster population that frequented the pizzeria regularly would simply disappear (except for that one little guy that lived in the fridge) without warnings, and that scared them. They freaked out when they tried looking for any trace of the _mystery_ over the meaning of that, but in the end Jane found out they were just hibernating - just like the other 99% of Wakefield monster population.

It was completely _natural_ for them.

So it was _they_ , the _humans_ , that were _weird_ to _not_ do it.

Jack tried to convince them that they were _overreacting_ over the low temperature that was to come. That it wouldn’t be unbearably cold since Wakefield hardly ever snow. Except that it _started_ to snow eventually, and Jack was faced with disappointment for all the remaining three occupants of his made-up family.

He only shrugged while hugging himself over thick layers of clothing and tried to laugh - shaking from coldness.

The first day, they went back to shopping for winter clothes and blankets.

The second day, they went to the building supply store for thermal heat insulators - so they could staple the fabric all over the walls of the treehouse.

The third day, Dirk’s garden died (and he mourned for hours).

The fourth day, Roveer disappeared to hibernate somewhere else (and Jack cried because he was counting on using him as his heat source).

The fifth day, Quint made a fire-pit bowl in the middle of their living room and lit it up.

The sixth day, they did their best to stock up food because it started to snow _badly_.

And by the end of the week it was already too cold for them to leave the house for a while. A snowstorm was passing over the city and it was really hard for them to do anything other than wait patiently for it to go away.

Presumably, their first winter was a chaos.

It reinforced their friendship, which was a good point. 

But it also made some things complicated between them, because it was on one specific day, when they were all drinking hot-chocolate near the Quint’s fire-pit talking about life and so on - _it_ happened.

At eleven and fifteen, Quint slept. He was shaking so much under the blanket that he didn’t notice when suddenly his body decided to seek warmth on the body sitting right next to him. Of course it was Dirk - but at the moment Quint was asleep and freezing, so it didn’t matter. His head rested on his shoulder, his small lanky arms hugged firmly at Dirk’s big arm, and he pressed himself to the big guy’s side like it would ease the coldness.

And surprisingly... It _did_.

Because the next thing Quint noticed was that he’s waking up from a very good night’s sleep (after a week of poorly rested freezing nights) and Dirk, passed out on the floor next to him, had a big heavy arm over the younger’s middle, the firepit was completely unlit but he wasn’t freezing - because there was a big thick blanket over them on the floor and he was _comfy_.

_Weirdly_ comfy. To be laying down next to his ex-bully. On the _ground_.

Jack and June were also passed out, likewise snuggling into each other. Which seems like sharing heat was really necessary during that specific cold night.

Outside, he could see - from the single window they left uncovered by the insulation fabric - that the snowstorm had ceased. Thankfully.

He sighed. Looking back at Dirk besides him, sleeping soundly. Drooling even. Which made him a bit disgusted at the time. Specially because he was yet a kid and never in his most distant thoughts could he realize that Dirk was drooling because he was _extremely_ comfy with that position.

So, after it happened - during the following winter that came - it wasn’t as weird when things ended up the same way. Dirk and Quint, snuggling under thick blankets, sleeping and just being comfortable in general.

_It was all winter’s fault_ \- He tried reasoning with the other half of himself that was liking the experience and wouldn’t mind doing that on late game nights too.

And he apparently wasn’t the only one thinking that. But they both were hiding it like _pros_.

Two years later, though, Dirk stopped giving a fuck. He became more touchy - helping Quint get things on top shelves (by unnecessarily lifting him up in the air), taking him on his arms when he was passed out on his lab or another place, saving him from the remaining zombies that existed on the city by throwing him over a shoulder and running for their lives, going together on early-morning huntings for supplies just so they would be alone and could chat a bit more about themselves, and so on. And to Quint, it was very hard to accept the changes because it was really… _uneasy_ for his heart.

Better than bullying, yes. But the smart dark skinned boy was getting too _flustered_ by these actions.

What does Dirk _want_ from him?

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They aged up a bit - because earth still goes round and round.

The treehouse was getting smaller by all the things they wanted to put there, so they decided to divide some buildings left on the block near their place, exactly like Quint did with the mechanical workshop near the Pizzeria.

June exclaimed she’d be owning the gym, and that she’d fight with teeths and nails over its bathroom - so if anyone was to use it, it’d be under her _permission_.

Dirk wanted to make a deal, because he also wanted that place - but he lost under the argument that he doesn’t shower as frequently as she did. In the end, he decided he wouldn’t choose a building yet since he’s usually in his garden, kitchen or around the city doing patrol.

Jack wanted to explore and collect random stuff, so he decided he’d take any building nearby to stock up his findings - which was a lot. From monster skeleton to pretty gems that fell from the portal over the school a few weeks ago.

The good monster people from the Pizzeria didn’t mind the lightest - including Bárton that took them under his wings like a big bird of prey mama.

Once they’ve decided (and divided), the treehouse got itself more _space_.

It was still their _home_ . So, they took the opportunity to upgrade their own sleeping bags for real comfortable beds, and that was _awesome_. At first. Until they got too uncomfortable with their own sleep peculiarities. 

June snores. And Jack has a weird restless legs syndrome or something likewise - he just never _chills_ when he goes to sleep anxious or restless.

Quint never understood what parassonia Dirk has - but he likes to snuggle with whatever is near him while sleeping. And, since Quink happened to be one of those things one or twice, he was the ultimate proof of that theory.

But, after a while, sharing the same room started to get a bit…

Well, let’s just say…

_‘ **uncomfortable** ’. _

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“Uurgh! can’t you stop throwing your dirty underwear all over the place?” June shouted one afternoon at Jack. “It’s disgusting!”

“Hey! I never complained about the amount of hair that literally overflows every surface of this place, did I? Just chill! I’ll pick it up.” He defended himself.

“My hair can be cut but your poor hygiene won’t change.” She threw her hands in the air. “You are a complete mess! Grow up!”

“I did grow!” He replied, serious. “Three inches!”

June facepalm herself.

“You are a waste of effort, really.” She frowned, looking at him in disappointment. Turning her back to Jack. “You keep being a kid with no sense of _reality_.”

“I’m 15!” He replied loudly. Offended. “I’m _not_ a child.”

June stomped her feet on the ground, clenched her right fist firm on the wood handle of the door and sent an angry stare above her shoulder to Jack.

“It’s been almost three years already, you had enough opportunities to prove me wrong!” And with that, she left the room, leaving Jack speechless.

He was about to ignore the pissed girl - she always does these tantrums. Quirt says it’s something about her period, which involved blood and he detests to think about. He, then, turned around to change. He started taking his clothes off to sleep just in time for Dirk to appear holding a sleeping scientist in his arms through the door.

Quint had probably fallen asleep in his workshop again.

“She’s right, you know?” The bully commented, lowering Quint in his bed.

Jack sent him a questioning look.

“The washing machine _broke_.” He murmured in a low voice, like he’s justifying his actions. 

“Pft… Not _that_ \--” Dirk started, but stopped. Rubbed at his scalp and started again. “Actually, That _too_ . You know you can clean them in the tank, right?” He pointed at Jack, but before he could reply the bully continued. “But I’m not talking about your dirty briefs.” Quint rolled over on his bed besides them, probably irritated by the noises, and Dirk felt a funny sensation inside his belly while watching the cute grumbled sounds the scientist did. “It’s been almost _four_ years already. Surviving has been tough. Who knows for how long can we keep living like this.” Dirk frowned and crossed his arms while looking at a shirtless Jack.

The hyperactive kid sighed in reply.

“I guess... if we stay together we can endure it?” He offered, shrugging. He’s not the perfect person to talk about serious things. They all need to thank him for being the first one that goes over the limit for them to be safe and sound - but Jack was just a mess of a human as each of them. 

“I’m not sure things will ever get back to normal. It’ll be forever us against the world. But June had a point when she shouted at you.” Dirk uncrossed his hands and supported himself over a wood pillar near Quint’s bed. “We are dealing with it the way we can, but we are kinda reckless, sometimes.” He shrugged, arms still crossed “Responsibility is important, and also… Three years is enough time to get some... personal _objectives_ defined, you know.”

Jack never thought he’d be the person Dirk would sprout his insight resolutions.

“And what _exactly_ are we talking about?” He _HAD_ to ask, because he’s dumb and he wasn’t entirely sure what Dirk was bringing up.

The bully, obviously, groaned.

“ _Puberty_ , you jackass.”

Jack opened his mouth and made a sound of understanding. He nodded his head and felt a thin blush ride to his cheeks.

“ _Right_.”

“I’m not comfortable with this subject either but someone _had_ to say it.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m older, so I guess It’s my duty - also, It’s not like no-one noticed their own puberty hit, _right_?” He questioned rhetorically.

“...So?” Jack asked. Still confused, but now very much _uneasy_.

“... _Seriously_?” Dirk arched an eyebrow.

It was Jack who, in turn, shrugged at him.

Dirk sighed, shaking his head while exiting the room.

“Do the math.”

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Quint squinted his eyes while looking at the city through the binocular-spyglass gadget he’d installed on the roof of the treehouse - he was looking for signals on Roveer’s disappearance. It had already been a full week, they were worried sick over that big monster dog!

It was early in the morning.

The weather was getting colder, out of the standard schedule for it. But it couldn’t be that winter came early this year - Quint’s homemade climate thermometer would have alarmed him by now if so.

Jack was asleep. Snoring loudly, as usual.

June was out, exercising, doing laps around the block.

And Dirk was down by his garden beds, fertilizing his brand new potato seedlings.

Rising his binoculars to the sky, Quint frowned. That thick gray cloud hovering over Wyndham Woods wasn’t there a few hours ago - and it was coming abnormally _fast_.

“Hey, Dirk!” He called, lowering his gadget and staring at the sky without them. His ex-bully looked up when he heard the calling. Not taking his eyes away from the cloud, Quint shouted in a warning tone. “We need to stock up, it’ll snow soon!”

The hurry was inevitable. The snowstorm never came so fast over the city. June and Dirk went to the convenience store to pick random necessities such as batteries, toilet paper and charcoal for the fire pit. Jack and Quint were isolating the walls with the thick faber that would hold the warm inside. Thankfully the snowstorm just made minimal damage before they were all safe inside the reinforced-treehouse.

They were almost getting _pro_ dealing with zombies and all kinds of monsters, but the sudden change of season and weather made them look like noobies every single time.

"GURH!" June shouted, enraged. She was already sitting in the living room covered in a blanket. Her voice was unnecessarily high and she was gritting her teeth so she could get a better hold over her anger _and_ shiverings. "YOU SHOULD KEEP BETTER TRACK ON THE WEATHER, QUINT!" 

"Hey!" Quint shouted back from behind his curtain. "I warned you all the moment I found out! It's just that the cloud was so fast my meteorological devices didn't pick it up yesterday, and when I noticed it was already over the florest!" Once finished, the curtain was pulled and Quint left the perimeter of his 'personal quarters' dressed in warmer clothes.

They all had agreed on putting separated curtains around each of their beds, so things could get more _private_ for everyone. Jack started calling it his 'personal quarters' because it was literally a quarter of the space they used to share as their 'room'. The nickname stuck.

"Don't worry, Nerd. She just wants to blame someone." Dirk mumbled from the floor. He was laying down on a thermal cushion Quint had made them all in the beginning of last Fall. It just needs to be filled with hot water and the heat helps them cope with the freezing temperature for a few hours."It's not your fault."

"WHAT DOES THAT WEATHER-PREDICTION MACHINE DOES IF IT DOESN'T WARN US WHEN WE MOST NEED IT?! HUM?!" She shouted at Dirk's direction, really in for a fight apparently.

Dirk arched his upper half with both his elbows and sent her an not-in-the-mood stare.

"Shut up, will ya?" He groaned back, tired of running around the convenience store looking for the supplies while June was waiting in the truck because of menstrual cramps or similar shit. " _Gosh_ , I didn't know girls could be this _moody_." He finished, dropping back into the cushion.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING MOODY, JACKASS?!" She questioned in a shout, eyes getting heavy with uncontrollable tears, and an arm pressing into her stomach. "UGh--" She whined, crying.

Jack appeared a second later besides her with two mugs of hot chocolate and placed one of her opening hands.

"Here." Was the only thing he said, before sitting right next to her and throwing a few more blankets over them both.

He seemed to be learning _something_ this past few months.

Quint, dressed in comfy thick pajamas, appeared right after with another two mugs of hot chocolate to warm them up.

Dirk instinctively lifted himself from his position and made space for Quint to sit beside him - also lifting the blanket he was wrapped on, with an arm, for Quink to get under.

The dark skinned boy noticed the invitation but got too embarrassed to accept, so he sat out of the cushion, on the cold floor, and put their mugs in front of them, picking a random blanket around to cover himself.

The fire-pit was lit, which helped them all not freeze-to-death.

Dirk frowned at his action and lowered his arm - bowing his back forward so he could get a millimeter closer to Quint and squinting at the younger boy's face. Apparently searching for something hid in the almost invisible freckles on his face. The other one felt a cold drop run down the side of his tempora and nervously looked to the opposite wall - ignoring it completely.

Deep down Dirk thought about asking directly what was happening, and if Quint wanted to just snuggle warmly together like the last time, but didn't find the courage to.

Words stuck on the back of his tongle.

Quint resumed drinking his hot-cocoa and starting some kind of subject for them to chat around the fire-pit.

“-and some of the pictures you asked me to reveal for the bestiary were ruined so you’ll have to get another one of those purple vine-thingies near the lake.” He told Jack, while he was mindlessly sipping at his sweet beverage.

“Damn.” He grumbled, frowning. “It’s gonna be tough, they are dangerous to get close.”

Quint hummed in thought.

“I could put some kind of magnifying lens on your camera.” He said, sharing his thoughts. “That way you could just hide somewhere high and take a photo from there without getting near.” He added.

Jack agreed with the ideia. It was, indeed, a good one.

“Oh, right!” June remembered. “I was thinking… how about we go to some nearby city to pick more food?” She said, her voice back to normal with the help of sugar running on her veins. “We could go to that small town a few miles north and fuel the truck with, ya know… supplies we don’t have _here_ anymore?”

“Yeah, June has a point.” Quint said, nodding. “I could use more tape, nails and screws…”

“And we need football balls for the weapons - we went empty of those.” Dirk remembered them.

Jack hummed and agreed.

“Hmm, seems a nice idea - the quantity of zombies and monsters on the streets are basically none so it wouldn’t be that hard.”

“So… after the storm?” Asked Jane.

“Isn’t it too dangerous? The snow may be too high outside, especially in the countryside.” Dirk asked, being reasonable.

“Nah, Quint can make some kind of Snow Shovels on the front of Big Mama, right?” The leading figure asked, looking at his best friend. “So, who about me and June going there and you two stay to guard the house?”

“I… I was thinking about going too so I could pick some items I need for my gadgets?” Quint asked, trying to hide the crawling blush on his cheeks at the idea of being completely alone in the treehouse with Dirk for more than a day. Thankfully his dark skin color helped.

Jack looked at his side, sharing an unreadable look with the girl. He opened his mouth to say something in reply but June meddled.

“I need _girly_ supplies.” She confessed. “The kind of thing that just _I_ know what to pick - and unfortunately I’m not fully well to battle if needed, so I’d rather take someone else’s help, no offense.” The girl said, looking at Quint and smiling apologetically. “Because you are certainly more important here than taking this unnecessary risk for me, Quint.”

“And no one else knows how to fix the heater _and_ the sandwich maker, man.” Jack added with a truthful smile. “But we know what electric tape and screws are so… yeah.”

Quint frowned, pouted and looked down, hard, at his feet. He didn’t really like the outcome of that conversation. Not because it made him seem useless in battling (they know better than to assume he can’t do that to save their lives), no, he _does_ have more value here because he _is_ a crucial part for their survival indeed and he knows it. But the outcome of that conversation resulted in one thing he didn’t _want_ to happen.

“...okay.” He said, almost in a whisper.

Dirk remained in silence, just watching the scene. Eyes going from June, to Jack, to Quint, and landing a little bit too long on the younger boy by his side - sipping on his own hot-chocolate drink.

He may be just as nervous as Quint was, although neither of them were showing it. But in Dirk’s humble opinion, it was _fine_. Because this way they could finally get some quality time, alone, and if the mood was right they could talk.

Who knows... maybe, _maybe_ , good things may come out of it. 

Sure, bad things may come out as well - but a _chance_ was all Dirk wanted for now.

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The snowstorm went away after a whole afternoon and night. The outside was completely covered in white frozen water flakes and, just like everyday, Quint was the first one to wake up and see the sun in the sky.

The temperature was, as expected, low. 

The dark skinned boy was covered in a warm blanket, in the kitchen, preparing them some coffee when June appeared on the threshold rubbing her eyes.

“Good Morning.” He said, mixing his fresh filtered coffee with a bit of powdered milk on a yellow mug that says ‘Don’t Panic’ - a personalized mug he made for himself as a birthday gift that it’s a satire between his favorite science fiction book and his second favorite band (which he’s seriously glad the LP still works after using it for twice a week for the last four years).

June, the sleepy girly moving corpse, came dragging her feet over the floor of their kitchen grumbling something that Quint thinks was a mix of ‘good’ with ‘morning’ but came out really messy.

“I made you guys a list of things...” He said, taking his mug and sitting on a straw chair near the window. 

Since it had stopped snowing and blowing hard - he had taken the thermal insulation material that they used to cover all the windows, and opening it a bit would be nice. 

It was getting too sultry inside the treehouse.

“Because… well--” Quint decided to keep explaining, since June opened the minifridge and drank from a bottle of water. “-I was hoping you visited a building supply store or at least something like a _walmart_.”

Jane yawned and sat at another chair nearby, resting her head on her arms.

“Yeah, great.” She said. One hand waving on the air while she mumbled the following words. “Just… five more minutes, ‘kay? I’m dying.”

“Ern…” Quint said, laughing. “Sure?”

Dirk entered the kitchen right after that, yawning as well, but going straight to Quint’s coffee. Quint watched him pour some of the liquid into a dark-red NFL mug.

“-’morning” He greeted in a low hoarse voice, after the first sip and turning around to check who was already there. 

Coffee first, always.

“Hi.” Quint greeted back.

Dirk stared at the passed out girl on the kitchen table and arched an eyebrow.

“I guess she didn’t sleep too well.” Quint shrugged, non-challenge. “Or she’s sick, it’s also possible.”

Dirk took a seat nearby, but turning the chair backwards as he usually does so he could rest his arms on the back support.

“Or it’s one of those weird period craps.” He theorized, sipping from his coffee.

Jack was the last one to wake up with the noises - most of the days he just keeps sleeping but since they had decided to travel that morning, he thought it would be better to not delay such an impossible quest for supplies.

He had changed clothes and was entering the kitchen much better rested than June or even Dirk were.

“Hey guys.” He greeted, smiling. And after a cup of coffee he’d be certainly _vibrating_ with extra-energy.

Them both acknowledged the boy entering but kept discussing and theorizing.

“It’s called _cramps_ , not craps.” Quint corrected Dirk, laughing at the older guy’s unamazed expression.

Jack filled a random mug with coffee and took another bottle of water from the mini-fridge, drinking from both.

“What are you guys talking about?” He asked, approaching.

“Guessing what's up with June.” Quint explained. “She doesn’t look well, she might be sick-” he said, then an idea popped up. “Or _ovulating_ , we learned that in 7th grade - they say it hurts like hell.”

Dirk frowned at the idea and sent Jack the harshest parenting stare he could manage.

“Jack, should we be _concerned_?” 

Jack spit the water and coughed on his fist, eyes widened. Quint also did that, but in a more controlled way. Both of their cheeks were flushing.

“ _What?_ ” Jack shouted.

Dirk kept staring at him with seriousness.

June snored at the table.

Quint stood from his chair and walked to the sink to clean his mug.

“What the--” Jack said, hands frozen on the air. Frowning at Dirk. “ _Man_ -” Warm cheeks and embarrassment clearly showing on his eyes “Guh! _No! Okay?_ ”

Then, he took both his mug and bottle to sit on the last available chair on the other side of the table.

Quint thought it would make his best friend a favor by saving him from the weird mood that took over the kitchen.

“So!” He said, from the sink. Turning around and leaning his hips on the counter for support. “I made a list of supplies I need, so I’ll just give it to you and if possible gather as much as you can, sounds cool?” He asked, looking at Jack, nodding.

The other boy nodded back, face still faintly flushed.

“Yeah, I’ll try.”

“Great!” Quint replied, leaving the kitchen and entering his quarters. It happened quickly. He picked up the small notebook from under his pillow and ripped the piece of paper he had sketched on. 

When he was back in the kitchen, Dirk asked to borrow his small notebook.

Opening in a random page and ripping another piece of paper he gave it back and started to write down a list of his own - apparently.

“Okay, well, there are many items here, but the main ones that I need are the first six.” Quint explained, while Dirk took his time.

“It’s fine,” Jack smiled back at him. “You know I’ll pick whatever you need, man.”

They shared a friendly knowing look.

Then, Dirk gave the paper to Jack with crossed arms. When the boy took it, he noticed there was only one item listed.

“DIRK, SERIOUSLY?!” Jack shouted, face going back to full flushed mode. It could be seen a stream coming out of his ears.

The older boy just stood from his chair, whistling.

“Better safe than sorry, Jack.” He replied, “It's a survival tool.” Then he left the kitchen to go clean the snow pooled on their decks.

Quint could take a wild guess of what was written down there and he couldn’t control the flush from invading his cheeks as well.

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Jack and June had left an hour or so before noon. Quint had fueled Big Mama with the power energy it needs and also an extra gallon of gas for good measure and emergency. They packed up canned food (which they had to learn to like or they would be starving by now) and bottles of filtered water - also thanks to Quint’s marvelous gadgets.

The sun was bright, shining and warm - melting some of the snow that was pooling on the streets. Which helped a lot.

So, after they left, it was just Dirk and Quint against the world. And would be until the midnight of that day.

Quint said he’d be at his workplace for a while and Dirk said he’d fix them something to eat.

The workshop was completely uncovered and its walls weren’t as insulated as expected so the place was freezing. Quint was covered in blankets near his computer when Dirk came to knock at his door with the news that he had found noodles under the shelf of the bakery down the block.

Dirk saw the small shivering bunch of blankets sitting in a chair and approached.

Quint took a scare when his chair was moving backwards and Dirk appeared on the limited peripheral vision where his eyes weren't hiding inside the cocoon he made over him.

“You okay there?” The taller one asked, arching and eyebrow.

Quint nodded his head. He didn’t trust his own voice, it could come out shaky and stuttered from the cold. 

How was Dirk not _freezing_ , really?

The older boy hummed, looking at the dark skinned one and bent down to pick the cocoon up - throwing it over a shoulder effortlessly.

Quint, obviously, shouted in panic and embarrassment.

“HEY!”

Dirk, obviously, was not even caring if the attitude were not welcome.

Quint ceased his yells after a second because Dirk’s arms holding him over his shoulder was warm and _that_ was welcome.

The strong guy took him all the way up to the treehouse, where he laid (more like _threw_ ) the body over the mattress that was Dirk’s bed, and laid by his side, an arm throwing over the cocoon and closing his eyes - pretending to nap.

Quint did nothing to stop him doing either of that - it all happened relatively quickly which made the younger boy stay as paralized as possible until he decided it was a good opportunity to ask.

“Dirk?” He started. “What are you doing?”

The human boy opened his eyes slowly, staring at the opposite wall from over Quint’s head, the arm over the dark-skinned boy’s body pulling him closer to his chest.

Dirk sighed.

“I’m touch starved.” He replied, which may or may not be entirely the ulterior motives of his current doing. “Can we just stay like this for a while?”

Quint could feel how nervous he was, his palm and nap getting sweaty. He clenched his hands on the blanket over him, tightening it over his slim shape.

“... sure.” He whispered, letting himself be pressed into the other one’s front.

While Quint tried his best to keep calm, take deep breaths and not freak-out, Dirk was doing the exact same thing as his mind was going over thousands and thousands of ways to start the subject he wanted to.

Neither of them could pretend there wasn’t _something_ going on between them.

This something could be something really nice - and if so they should talk it through so they can do something _about_ the thick pent up tension happening since last winter - but it could also not _be_ what Dirk wished - and if so they should make things straight so there’s no embarrassment happening between them anymore.

The problem was that… they didn’t really know that to do with this newfound feeling towards each other. And deep down both were worried sick that it would make everything a mess.

Well, _messier_ than it is already...

Their hearts were loud and they could acknowledge how fast both were beating. Neither of them commented on it, though.

Dirk took the opportunity to also be ashamed of himself that he was such a Jerk to Quint when they were at school. Of course he would never have thought about the possibility of him feeling anything similar to _befriending_ Jack-ass and his skinny dark nerdy _sidekick_ . But, on his defense, he never thought he’d be stuck on surviving with them after the apocalypse so… yeah. Younger-him would be disgusted with all the nasty and lascivious things he pictures him and Quint doing on his head during _those_ restless nights. But, younger-him was a jerk _and_ a homophobe, so Dirk doesn’t care anymore.

The only thing he does care, now, is what Quint was thinking about.

Which was, respectively, the topics of the following: Dirk’s arms - Hugging - Warm - Nice - Embarrass - Needy - Dirk - Friendship - Bad - Shame - Priorities - Surviving - Dirk’s chest - Comfy - Winter - Feelings - Bad - Self-Doubts - Curiosity - Self-conscious - Puberty - Theories - Closeness - Shyness - Wishes - and, for the last one until this exact moment, - _Attempt_.

All together, made Quint get so absorbed into his own thoughts that he almost didn’t hear what Dirk had asked him.

“-hum?” He mumbled, red-face pressed near Dirk’s jugular.

“I asked... If you feel something about June.” He repeated. Eyes, though, not looking down.

Quint, just like the other one, kept himself on the warm stop. His eyes, though, frowned at the sudden random question.

“About... in which sense?” He asked, to try understanding it.

“Feelings like… _attraction_.” He explained.

Quint laughed at the absurdness of that.

“ _What_ ?” His voice was heavy with indignity, mixed with incredulity. “ _June_ ? _No_!” He made it sound precisely what it was - the undoubtedly truth. “Also, she’s Jack’s - I would never betray my friend like that.”

Dirk sighed in relief and somehow heights left his shoulders.

“Why?” Quint asked, heart pounding on his chest again. 

“Well…” Dirk shrugged. “She’s the only girl here, so…”

“Do _you_ like her?” Quint’s voice asked, low, almost too uneasy to do so.

It could be seen that he was also afraid to ask such a weird question out of the blue.

Dirk shook his head, denying it.

“Oh... _good_ .” The younger boy said, regretting it a second later, face blushing quickly, “B-because, you know, Jack likes her and she likes him back, and--” he added the extra information because the way he replied sounded like he was too happy knowing that Dirk wasn’t interested in her-- n-not that he _wasn’t_ happy, he **_was_ **, but that wou--

“Quint, I...” Dirk said, interrupting the other boy’s ranting and thoughts. “I kinda like _you_ , actually.” He confessed, lungs full of air. He was clearly nervous. “And I know you noticed it...” He kept going, explaining, and not letting Quint mingle or give his own answer yet. “But, you see, I _get_ it if you don’t want anything with me - we are friends now, but I’m a guy and you might not even like these things…” The big warm arm around Quint squeezed him a bit more. “Sorry to throw that at you. That I... developed _feelings_ . I know it just brings more and more problems - but I’m also… _glad_ that it happened this way.” He said in the lowest volume possible. “You are a great guy and I like being close to you.” The words kept overflowing his mouth, and Quint could see the blush running all the way down to his neck where his face was pressed. “I also find you cute and reliable.” There was a stutter somewhere in between which made Dirk feel even more exposed, but shrugged it off. “So, I guess, liking you was the most _sane_ attitude that could have happened, really.”

Once the confesses ended, Dirk pushed Quint off his chest so he could check the younger boy’s face.

Quint’s hands flew to hide his flushed expression from Dirk’s eyes.

The taller one held the slim wrist of the smart one and pouted.

“Hey, I gave my best here - at least let me enjoy your embarrassment too.”

Quint denied, shaking his head. Dirk could see other one’s ears get darker in color.

A red-face was kind of difficult to recognize on a dark-skin - but not impossible. _Especially_ this close.

“Please?” He asked, pouting even more.

Quint spreaded two of his fingers, so he could see Dirk’s pouting face. He whined and his hands were lowered down with a sigh after that.

“I--” He started, embarrassed. “...I have _zero_ knowledge on this.”

Dirk waited for more. It took Quint a second, but then he started again.

“Dirk, I…” He bit his lips, hands sweating again. “...I guess I like you too?”

The older boy waited again, patiently, for more. But nothing else came, because Quint didn’t know what _else_ to say.

“But…?” So Dirk instigated the rest.

Quint shrugged, smiling.

“No buts.” 

It took Dirk by surprise.

“Wait, what?” Dirk made a puzzled face. “But you were _avoiding_ me.”

“Yeah… about that…” Quint grimaced a bit, and tried to laugh it off. “I was a lot confused and I wasn’t sure I _wanted_ something until now...”

“What changed?”

“I… don’t know…” Quint answered, honest. “My hands are shaking, my heart is skyrocketing and I’m really curious on what kissing you feels like.”

Dirk blinked at him, and finally let the air out of his system, smiling like a dork-trying-not-to-look-like-a-dork.

“Sounds like a good reason.” He nodded, face still flushed.

“Yeah,” Quint nodded back, face also very much flushed. “So… now what?”

Dirk locked his eyes on Quint’s one. And slowly lowered his head, going down and down so he could press both of his lips on the younger boy’s mouth.

Quint met him halfway.

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Jack Sullivan was having a panic attack.

They had parked the truck under the cover of the pharmacy entrance, protecting it from the snow that started to fall. Jane went quickly to look for anything that could take her pain again and other things. While Jack took his time going over the shelves of the place. He started picking some of the stuff they could use, as well as shaving foam, razors, deodorant and antiseptic powder for their feet. He had started growing some facial hair (not as much as Dirk, but it was there).

Turning the aisle he entered into the other corridor and _there it was_ \- the condom dispenser.

The packages were all too colorful, mixing from red to orange and some green in between - too much flashy.

Jack lowered his sight to his front pocket but didn’t take the note that was hidden in there. He was too ashamed to confess it out loud, but Dirk was right. It _was_ a surviving tool. Who knows what kind of luck he gets on the trip back to the treehouse…

He had reached for the dispenser, taking one.

Then, he safed it inside the inner pocket of the hoodie and reached for another two.

He took a few steps back and turned around to leave.

But he stopped, turned back and took another hand full of the colorful condoms.

And that was the exact second that June decided to appear over the counter, with arms crossed.

Jack, squealed like a girl and threw himself on the floor, trying to hide from the disapproving look.

“I-it’s not what it looks like!!” He shouted. “Dirk asked me for these! I swear!” Jack tried, in vain, to defend himself.

June only shook her head, flushed, took one from the dispenser to let the information float in the air and left behind the counter again.

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Quint kissed like he was studying a blueprint. He tasted and savoured their share of spit and dance of tongues like he was inquired and puzzled. At first, apprehensive to test it, but thrilled of how cool and useful the gadget turned out later.

He moaned under such pressure of bodies. Dirk’s big hands were massaging his sides and holding the back of his head while Quint caressed the underside of Dirk’s jaw and the back of his neck while focusing on moving his mouth in sync to his.

Their heads were inclined so they could fit perfectly together, Dirk would dare bite and suck at Quint’s soft lips and the younger one would rather just let himself be eaten by that mouth. Too inexperienced but yet too thirst for knowledge.

The lack of air, of course, was the only reason why they parted unwillingly too early.

Their eyes were half-opened, and their cheeks were flushed.

Dirk noticed that it had begun to snow outside, checking at it from the corner of his eyesight. But Quint was too worked up to stop so he initiated it again, giving the lips in front of him, another sweet peck.

Dirk’s attention went back to the skinny dark boy, taking the opportunity to realize how cute Quint looked like relaxed with closed eyes and blushing. It didn’t take another second before devouring his lips again. His big arms surrounded Quint’s body into a warm embrace and rolled them over, making himself press the short one against the mattress of his bed with him on top. Holding him down in place. He untangled the cocoon of blanket that was restraining Quint’s movements, uncovering the other one’s whole slim frame.

The younger boy noticed Dirk’s doing. He noticed he was stuck under Dirk with the other man’s strong chest against his. But he welcomed it all. And with now completely free will, Quint got a hold on Dirk’s hair and pulled him down, guiding the kiss while Dirk’s hands went south.

The big fingers palmed Quint’s bulge through his pants, massaging it slowly. Quint moaned in the middle of the kiss, cheeks going degrees more warm than before. Knees pressing together instinctively.

“Sorry--” Dirk said, though he seemed clearly pleased to eat up Quint’s sweet moans. “...If I’m going too fast...” His hand stopped, but his thumb was restless, moving around in lazy circles over the fabric. Dirk lowered his flushed face, kissing the side of Quint’s neck, attempting to bite the dark skin but restraining himself from doing that yet. Gestures and words giving the impression of him being inebriated. “I’m just…” He looked lost. His actions were done slowly, giving Quint plenty of time to push him back.

But he didn’t.

Quint, instead, groaned in frustration, filling his hand full of Dirk’s hair and pulling him back up. He locked his eyes onto the older boy and began the hottest kiss he could manage even being the completely inexperienced person he was - his own dark hand joining Dirk’s one over his southern regions.

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There was silence for a long while during the trip back.

Jack was still embarrassed over what happened, but June was actually much more puzzled than embarrassed.

First, because she knew Jack was telling the truth - he had shown her the piece of paper Dirk had written with his undoubtedly handwriting. But it was the exact main reason why she was feeling more puzzed than anything.

June can understand the reason why _Jack_ would take a few of those condoms for himself. She and him have been having this somehow _thing_ where sometimes they would make out and touch each other intimately (and that wild experience once where she let Jack suck at her tits while they touched themselves). So, escalating things a notch is expected for _them_.

But… Dirk?

“Jack…” The brunette started. The boy looked up at her. “Why would Dirk ask for _condoms_?” She asked in a low voice, arching an eyebrow. “Is he and Quint…?”

Jack hit the brake so fast them both would be _launched_ out of the front window if not for the seatbelts holding them. The boy sent her the most uncomfortable face he could manage, grimacing. 

“Oh God!” He shouted. Making disgusted noises and faces. “Eeew, _no_ , gah!”

June rolled her eyes at the childish expression.

“Why would you _think_ that?!” He asked, laughing at the absurd. “Quint is not even gay.”

The girl shrugged.

“Who else would Dirk use it with?” She inquired, crossing her arms.

Then, suddenly, it made Jack remember something Dirk had told him a while back.

_“-It’s not like no one noticed their own puberty hit, right?”_

The words echoed on his mind. Just as if a bucket of cold-water was thrown all over him and he finally **_realized_ **... 

_“Do the math.”_

“Ohmygod…” He whispered, despair filling his eyes. “We are in **four**.” He stared at June with a non-pleased expression.

June laughed at him. 

"It _can’t be_ that it took you _this_ _long_ , really."

  
  


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They kept half of their clothes on because it was still very cold. But the blanket that was Quint's cocoon (aka his once heterosexual shield) was wraped around them both, together with another thick one that was thrown over Dirk's bed and it helped a lot.

Quint was as red as a tomato, panting out of breath, while Dirk was grinning in teasing. Hand wet, dripping Quint's fluids between fingers, dirting a bit his sheet - but he couldn't care less.

"You are so cute."

The smart boy groaned embarrassed seeing the smaug look on Dirk's face, and tried to hide himself on the crook of the older one's neck.

"Shut up." He mumbled, still panting a bit. 

Well… it had been quick, but it was intense nonetheless.

"Hey," Dirk whispered against Quint's ear. Making the young man shiver and flinch more against his chest."You know what would be nice, right now?" He asked.

Quint hole frame shaked, face flushing unbelievably hot. He had a guess… but he didn't have the courage to say it out loud.

Dirk licked Quint's exposed earshell and placed a kiss on his burning cheek - laughing mischievously at his exaggerated expression of shame.

"A hot bath." He whispered.

The dark skinned boy moaned.

“Damn, I’ve been wanting one for a few days now...” He mumbled. “It’s hard to work on the outside tub at this time of year.”

“Well… the offer still stands.”

Lifted his head up a bit, Quint frowned at Dirk in mild confusion.

"But how? We don't have bathtubs here."

Dirk grinned even more mischievously at the reply.

"June has." He said, and saw as Quint widened his eyes, gasping. "There was a reason why I wanted that Gym."

Quint got up from the bed faster than he would if the treehouse was under zombie attack.

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Jack and June decided it would be better from them both if they changed the subject.

Things would happen anyway, and Jane knows she would find out eventually if those two boys were up to something like… _dating_.

It's not like they could hide a secret like that from them. So, yeah, it's okay for now.

Therefore, a change of subject.

"So… do you think we can make it back before it starts to snow again?" She questioned, looking outside the window.

Jake sighed.

"Honestly? We may. But it'll be hard to drive during the night if it gets stormy again." He replied. "So… it's better if we park under some old gas station later." 

June sent a glance to the back seat and saw a few blankets there.

Well, die from hypothermia she won't.

Jack was a nice heat generator.

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The stream of hot water surrounded them in the medium sized bath of the old deactivated sauna. A bit small for two grown ups, but enough for them since Quint was smaller than most teens.

It was very warm inside the water, giving a nice sensation of coziness. 

Dirk had his merry time of pleasure, kissing Quint all over the process. The short boy took the opportunity to get a better look at what Dirk had between his legs, and decided it'd be a good plan to start getting himself used to the idea of _them_ happening.

Not being gay - It was actually much easier than he thought.

The bath was nice. They just relaxed under the hot water for a while before either of them started conversation again.

"You hungry?" Dirk asked.

"Oh, yeah." Quint answered, laughing, remembering it. "We skipped lunch, right?"

Dirk nodded and told him, finally, about the noodles he found. Quint decided it would be a perfect meal and they decided to put some warm clothes and go enjoy the rest of the day.

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Jack parked Big Mama when the sun went down and it was too dark outside to keep driving. Even with the front light on.

"I guess we should snuggle in the back seat and try to sleep." June mentioned. Already taking out her seat belt.

Jack nodded and yawned, doing the same.

They crawled back into the back seat and laid down on the improvised mattress made with blankets and pillows.

The snow storm outside was making Big Mama shake around them and it made things difficult to rest properly. June had Jack laid down on her chest while she caressed his scalp. The hair was greasy. She decided to tell him that and that he should clean it once they are back.

The gesture was nice, and Jack found himself slowly losing energy. June took the opportunity to get comfortable and whisper sweet nonsense while kissing his forehead.

"Good Night."

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It was night in Wakefield too.

At the treehouse, Quint and Dirk were laying down on Quint's bed, comfortable with each other. 

They were both a lot touch starved since hugging and caressing were too… personal to do it with anyone. So now, they could enjoy and fill those needs they were feeling since day one of the apocalypse.

Quint was laying over Dirk - chin against chest. Big hands making circles on his back.

"When…" The tired low voice of the younger boy decided to speak up, picking Dirk's attention. "You know…" He said, unhelpful. Dirk was confused. So Quint sighed and shrugged. "... **_me_ **?"

Dirk hummed. Hands holding his probably-boyfriend near, caressing his back and sides.

"I won't tell you." He answered.

Quint got surprised, curious and pissed at the same time, if possible.

"Why?!" 

Dirk shifted on the spot and kept humming. Embarrassment growing.

"Because you will call me a perv."

Quint laughed at him, face flushing again.

"All right." He sent a heated stare over his eyelashes to the man and grinned. "I promise I won't judge if you give me details."

"That's even worse!" Dirk laughed. "I'm not telling you." He reaffirmed.

Quint shifted himself too, raising the upper part of his body from the mattress so he could look down at Dirk's flushed and laughing expression from above.

"Now that I clearly have power over you," He started, grinning even more. "I guess it's a matter of time until I find out."

Dirk raised an eyebrow at him, mimicking his facial expression.

"Don't get cocky, nerd." He widened a smile, smitten. "It doesn't suit you."

Quint lowered his head to place a peck into Dirk's lips.

"Oh, it suits me just fine." The words replied, hitting the lips he had just kissed. "I'm made by measure."

Dirk laughed out loud at snobbishness.

"I didn't know you had that in you, _Baker_." The taller boy teased, calling Quint by his last name, as he used to at school, when he still bullied him and Jack. "Where did it come from?"

"The same place my feelings for you, apparently." Quint laughed, sticking his tongue out. "And I bet some more discoveries are to come due time." 

Dirk hummed, a worried thought in mind.

"Will you tell Jack?"

Quint blinked at his question, head slightly inclined to the side.

"Why? I shouldn't?"

Dirk opened his mouth a bit, but closed a second later. Smiling.

"Nah, it's better if we do, actually…" He nodded, but grimaced. "I just think he won't take it easily."

Quint rolled his eyes.

"I'll handle him." He shrugged. "He's easier to deal with than June or you."

"I'm not that difficult..." Dirk defended himself.

"You are."

As smooth as it could be, and as nice and romantic as their fresh new relationship was, Quint and Dirk kept chatting and holding each other until they fell asleep. And next day, they would probably still be surprised and awkward to be clinging on each other. 

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That night June and Jack did something very similar. Then, June fell asleep on Jack's chest with the boy petting her hair.

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Neither Dirk nor Quint mentioned the news about them, when June and Jack came back next morning. They had decided to do it, yes. Eventually. And to let things clear that they were… well, just having something fresh, new and not compromising... for now...

It was too early to say if they would stick as boyfriends yet, although they both were already mindlessly calling themselves that, inside their own heads.

"So, how did things go?" Jack asked, at brunch, after taking a shower and putting the dirty clothes in the tank to wash it later.

Dirk and Quint were sharing a box of cereals the other two had found on the expedition.

They exchanged a look and shrugged.

"Normal."

Then, an enraged girl, fuming from her mouth, appeared on the door of the treehouse, shouting.

"WHO USED BY BATHROOM?!"

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it. I just wanted to share the only piece of fanfic I’ll ever write for this fandom. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed typing. Although I wish I could make something more out of the background created, I surely won’t.


End file.
